2009 Super Bowl - NFL Football

The 2009 Super Bowl (or Super Bowl XLIII) is the forty-third playing of the Super Bowl to decide the NFL champion. On February 1, 2009, The AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals.

The game will feature one the league’s best defenses (Pittsburgh) versus the high-powered offense of the Arizona Cardinals. For the Cardinals, this the first time they have made it to the Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL, only three years ago, and they are the favorites in the game.

Notable players in the game include Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Troy Polamalu, Santonio Holmes, and Hines Ward from the Steelers and Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Bolden, Steve Breaston, Edgerrin James, and Tim Hightower from the Cardinals.

The game will be broadcast on NBC in the United States and it will be seen by millions of people. The National Anthem will be sung by American Idol finalist and actress Jennifer Hudson. The halftime show will feature Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Advertising time during the game will cost $3 million for one 30 second spot.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were the winners of the 2009 Super Bowl. The final score of the game was Pittsburgh Steelers - 27 and Arizona Cardinals - 23. The Super Bowl MVP went to Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes who had 9 catches for 131 yards with 1 touchdown, the eventual game winner. Other stand outs included Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald who had 7 catches for 127 and 2 touchdowns.

The game was marred with referee controversy much like the Steelers' earlier Super Bowl victory in 2005 against the Seattle Seahawks. Among the controversies were Holmes game winning touchdown grab that could not be confirmed on video, a late turnover by Kurt Warner that appeared to be an incomplete pass rather than a fumble which was under-reviewed, and several questionable personal foul penalties that favored the larger fan-based Steelers over the smaller-market Cardinals.